Lumeclipse
by Correcthorsebatterystaple
Summary: What happens when Eclipse breaks free of Luminous's mind, to live in his own body? Oneshot, Luminous/Eclipse.


**AN: Whispers just so everyone knows, I wrote this a year or two ago, back when I was just starting out writing and had not gotten used to the characters of Luminous and Eclipse, so... Yeah. This is probably pretty shitty writing. I'm only posting it because I like a lot of the details I wrote in it. Kind of crack fic-ish  
**

* * *

It was the aftermath of the Black Mage's defeat. The five heroes- or rather, the four heroes and the scoundrel, as Phantom so loved to declare- had succeeded in their quest, ridding the Maple World of the terrifying self-pronounced 'ruler'. The forces of darkness lay in ruins.

Except for one piece of the Black Mage, sealed inside a certain mage of light.

The death of the Black Mage had not rid Luminous of his awful 'split-personality'. He had waited with bated breath for his one red eye to disappear, for the annoying, smug voice of evil to be gone from his mind, yet nothing of the sort had happened. He still felt the lust for destruction whispering inside his head, and heterochromatic eyes glared at him from the mirror.

Luminous hated this. Lania needed him; she was only a little girl, alone in a cottage in the woods with naught but a cat-an admittedly terrifying cat, but a cat nonetheless, for company and protection. The light mage knew that there were still evil forces lurking in the Maple World, seeking some sinister way to revive their lord. Thusly, the little blonde girl who had become like a little sister to him was still in danger. Stragglers of the Black Mage's army would still target the heroes, and those dear to them.

And yet, while Luminous was still under this curse, he himself could not be trusted with Lania. Eclipse threatened to take over at every moment; the mage was near constantly pained by a headache, caused by the effort of keeping his dark side in control.

And so the hero had become determined. He _would_ free himself of this curse, whatever it took. Luminous began with searching the library- first, the Ellinian one, aided by Grendel, and, when that had proved fruitless, he had turned to Wiz the librarian in Korean Folk Town.

Luminous had nearly given up, when Wiz had quite literally stumbled upon a stack of books, freeing a tattered, moth-eaten scroll from underneath them.

This scroll seemed to be the answer. It detailed a spell to separate two souls. The only complication there seemed to be was that Luminous himself was unable to perform the spell- no matter, for he could enlist Evan's aid. Though still naïve as ever, a quality about him that had carried on past childhood, the Dragon Master had greatly progressed in magical skill. Luminous had no doubt that he would be able to pull off the spell, with the help of Mir's magic.

And so that brought him to the here and now; Luminous sat on the ground of a secluded, hidden area in Elluel. Mercedes has granted him permission to perform the spell in her kingdom; it was the perfect place. The elven magic filling the Elf Queen's home would aid the spell, and the area they were in was completely hidden away from any possible interference.

Luminous tugged at the chains binding him to a tree uncomfortably. Chafing though they were, the handcuffs were necessary. There was the possibility that Eclipse would take over his body during the period of time that the spell was being cast, and if that happened, there was no doubt that the dark mage would interfere.

_Do you really think you can get rid of me?_ taunted Eclipse cockily. It unsettled Luminous how entirely unworried his dark half sounded, but he shook his head as if shaking the thought out of his mind. No, this was going to go perfectly fine. It had to.

"Ready?" Evan asked cheerfully, hand on Mir's head so that their matching symbols overlapped. If Luminous was correct, it was to strengthen their combined magic.

The light mage hesitated, then nodded determinedly.

At once, Evan closed his eyes. The symbol on the back of his hand, as well as the tip of his wand, glowed a bright, blinding blue. He chanted the incantations.

_Thank you, Luminous,_ Eclipse's gleeful words echoed through Luminous' head. He had no time to worry over it before there was a sudden, searing pain all throughout his body, and blinding light shot out in every direction. It felt as if he was being torn apart, being doused in ice water and then scalded by lava; he couldn't help it, he screamed.

Seconds passed, but they felt like hours to Luminous. Ever so slowly, he felt the presence in his mind that he had grown so used to pulling away.

And then everything went black.

Luminous awoke to blurry red. As his vision came into focus, he realized that it was a pair of eyes inches away from his. And, as eyes often are, it was accompanied by a face. A face that bore an uncanny resemblance to his own.

Luminous jerked his head backwards and tried to reach for his rod, but was stopped by the metal closed around his wrists.

"You've made this so easy for me," Eclipse said smugly. Luminous glared up to see a reversed mirror image of himself; the dark version of him had black hair, with red tips rather than blue. His eyes were the exact shade of blood, and he was dressed in a black version of Luminous' own clothing.

"What have you done with Evan and Mir?" Luminous spat angrily.

"Oh, nothing too serious, just a minor sleep spell. They'll be out for a few hours," Eclipse waved his hand dismissively. Sure enough, Luminous could see his companions' unconscious bodies a mere few feet away.

"The spell. It was supposed to get rid of you, not give you a body of your own!"

"It was a spell to part two souls. It said nothing of whether or not it would kill me."

"Let me go," Luminous glared at Eclipse furiously, struggling uselessly against the handcuffs.

"Hmm..." Eclipse paused, pretending to consider it. He then leaned in close, cupping Luminous' chin, "I don't think so."

The hero, made uncomfortable by the close proximity, attempted to squirm backward. It was futile; the back of his head was pressed against the tree he was bound to.

"Say, do you know how much torture it is to live inside _your_ body?"

"If you're speaking of how _I_ do not go on mindless killing sprees-"

"No, not that," Eclipse grinned like the cheshire cat. "I'm talking about how bloody _virginal_ you are. I've been dying for a good-" the dark mage caressed Luminous' cheek. The hero shuddered. Out of disgust, of course. Yeah, disgust. "passionate-" Eclipse leaned in so his lips brushed the hero of light's ear, as he practically purred the word, "fuck."

This situation was extremely strange, absurd and inappropriate, Luminous decided.

"You've made this so easy," Eclipse repeated, eying Luminous with a predatory look in his crimson eyes, "you even chained yourself up for me!"

Luminous decided this was his cue to struggle like a mad man. Unfortunately, his rod was gripped in the hands of none other than his worst enemy. He concentrated on working up his magic, but seeing as how he was still exhausted and drained, the most he managed was a feeble blue spark issuing from the palm of his hand, which fizzled out quickly.

Eclipse cast the rod aside, and suddenly there were firm hands on Luminous' chest, forcefully halting his struggling.

And then he had a lapful of Eclipse.

"I'll make you a deal," the black-haired man declared, smirking at Luminous wickedly.

"I would never make an agreement with the likes of _you_."

"I'm hurt, Lumi," Eclipse put a hand over his heart and a pretend wounded expression on his face. "Just hear me out. If you don't struggle, I won't kill your little friends over there," he jerked a thumb towards Evan and Mir.

"NO!"

"Sound fair?" Eclipse ignored his counterpart's outburst.

Luminous hesitated. How could he just sit there and calmly take, possibly even reciprocate, Eclipse's perverse actions?

But if he didn't, Evan and Mir...

"...I loath you."

Deciding to take the light-haired man's declaration of hatred as acceptance, the dark mage smooshed his nose against the other man's.

Luminous could taste his deceptively sugar-sweet breath and he shuddered again. He couldn't even lie to himself that it was out of disgust; he couldn't think straight. This had to be some sort of magic, because why else would Eclipse's nearness leave him so breathless?

"Then let's seal it with a kiss."

Luminous had very little warning before there was a finger tipping his chin up and lips pressed firmly to his. Eclipse's hand tangled in his hair, nails raking over his sensitive scalp, as his lips moved against the light mage's. His eyes slipped shut. It was strange, yet pleasant, leaving Luminous' brain feeling fuzzy. He had to admit, he had never kissed many people. How could he? All this time, he had been caught up in the protection of the Maple World. He had no time between battle plans and fighting and research to find himself a lover; it had been harder still because of how difficult it was to find someone who suited his taste.

Luminous found himself wanting to kiss back, yet he held still. He still had dignity, damn it. He wouldn't struggle if it would ensure his friends' safety, but there was no way he was going to go along with Eclipse having his way with him.

His defiant thoughts shattered when a warm, slick tongue probed his lips. His breath caught in his throat and he almost found himself leaning forward when Eclipse pulled back.

"C'mon, Lumi, it's no fun if you won't play with me. This is like kissing a pillow. Do I need to threaten your little friends some more?"

Luminous schooled his face into an expressionless mask.

Eclipse leaned in again, lips nearly brushing Luminous'. He could feel his hot, damp breath against his sensitive lips.

"_Please,_ Lumi?"

Luminous desperately leaned forward, crushing his lips against Eclipse's. The evil mage slipped his tongue into Luminous' mouth and touched his tongue to the other man's. Their tongues battled for dominance and teeth bit into lips. Sounds escaped their throats and neither of them could tell who made which noises.

"You like that, you son of a bitch?" Eclipse asked smugly.

Eclipse rested his forehead against Luminous', red eyes staring mischievously into blue.

"I'll see you again, Lumi~"

Eclipse left Luminous laying there ashamed

But he, himself, was pleased, because he knew that Luminous would be looking forward to their next encounter.

Luminous leaned his head back against the tree and sighed, eyeing Evan. It was going to be a long few hours before he woke up.

* * *

Slender arms wrapped around Luminous' neck, and then clawed fingers covered his eyes.

"Guess who," a smug voice whispered in his ear.

"Go away," Luminous spat harshly. It had been a week since Eclipse's escape. A week since he had been... _Tricked_ into enjoying that kiss.

Currently, Luminous was sitting underneath a tree in Henesys. He had parted ways with Phantom, Aran, Evan and Mercedes, hoping that they wouldn't wind up involved in the games he and Eclipse were playing.

"So cold," Eclipse pulled away and spun Luminous around to face him, hand over his heart and a wounded expression on his face. "So what, you're playing hard to get now?" His hands slid down to cup Luminous' ass. The man went rigid.

"Don't mess with me."

"Ooh, my dear little Lumi finally grew a spine!" Eclipse laughed delightedly.

"Why can't you just find someone else to molest?!" Luminous shoved Eclipse away from him, hands clenched so tightly that his nails were leaving bloody marks on his palms. He grit his teeth.

"I barely even kissed you.."

"Shut up!" Luminous attempted to hit Eclipse, but his wrist was caught in the dark mage's grasp. Eclipse pried his tightly closed fist open and licked the blood away with a hum of enjoyment.

"What are you playing at, Luminous? One moment, you want me to fuck you, and the next, you want me to fuck off," Eclipse asked, head cocked to the side as he grinned.

Luminous felt ashamed. He had let Eclipse, _a part of the black mage, who could hardly even be considered a person,_ kiss him, and even though he didn't love him, had kissed back. Plus, Eclipse looked exactly like him, aside from eye and hair color and a few other minor details. Wasn't it narcissistic to lust after him? ...Luminous was pathetic.

Eclipse grabbed Luminous' chin gently and tilted it up. "Chin up, darling, you look like a kicked puppy," he smirked.

"Why can't you just leave me alone?" Luminous mumbled.

"I can't exactly kill anybody now that I'm this weak, so I'm bored. Entertain me, lowly peasant."

"How, and why should I?"

"Buy me ice cream, and because you love me."

"I do_ not_."

"Lies."

Luminous sighed wearily.

"If I buy you ice cream, will you leave me alone?"

"Maybe."

Luminous decided that 'maybe' was better than nothing, so he nodded hesitantly. Immediately, Eclipse latched onto his wrist and began dragging him towards town, humming a cheerful, creepy tune under his breath.

"I swear, all you ever think about is sweets, sex and bloodshed," Luminous muttered. Eclipse was walking quickly, unrelenting of his grip on Luminous' wrist, and it was causing him to stumble.

"Don't we all? Everybody's a psychotic killer on the inside. Is it so bad of me to be honest about it?" He grinned.

"Perhaps it's true that everyone has violent or lustful inclinations every now and then, but at least most people don't act on them in an unhealthy manner."

"You have a stick up your ass."

"_Excuse _me?" Luminous glared angrily, attempting to wrench his hand back and failing.

"As in, shut up and stop being so wordy. Do you _ever_ loosen up and have some fun?"

"Of course I do!" He spluttered incoherently.

"I'll take that as a no."

After several minutes of walking under the warm afternoon sun, passing by a cookie-cutter scenery of green grass and autumn trees, they reached town. It was fairly warm out that day, so it wasn't hard to find a small, quaint cafe that was open.. Luminous finally succeeded in wrenching his hand out of Eclipse's grip before they pushed in through the door of the mushroom-shaped shop.

They walked up to the girl at the counter.

"I'd like a large strawberry ice cream,"

"And what would you like?" She nodded to Luminous.

"I don't want-"

"He wants a vanilla."

Luminous shot him a dirty look.

"What?" Eclipse asked as they sat down at a table while the girl scooped their ice cream, "you're mad at me when I kill people, you're mad at me when I have kiss you even though you obviously wanted me to, and you're mad at me when I buy you ice cream. Are you sure you're not a girl?"

"Actually, you're using _my_ money to buy me ice cream."

"...Details," He waved a hand nonchalantly.

Luminous took a bite of his ice cream and found himself sighing at the creamy taste of it. He decided he might come back here sometime.

"Ha, see, aren't you glad I made you buy that for yourself?" Eclipse grinned, sliding into the seat next to him.

"Shut up."

Eclipse glanced curiously at the donuts, and Luminous explained. When he was done with his ice cream, he nudged Eclipse and pointed to the waitress.

"That girl is interested in you."

"She is?" Eclipse looked amused. He beckoned her over.

"Can I help you, sir?"

"Lumi says you like me. Well, I'm sorry, but I'm taken," Eclipse explained apologetically, pulling Luminous into his lap.

Luminous' face went red and he tensed up. What the heck?

"He's embarrassed about coming out about it in public," He smirked playfully.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't know. You guys look so much alike!" She smiled, "So that's why you looked so jealous."

"I did _not_ look jealous," Luminous elbowed Eclipse in the gut and squirmed away from him.

"Well, have a nice day," She said cheerfully, walking back to the counter.

"What was that for?!" Luminous hissed.

"It was the only way to let her down gently."

"Why do you care?" He tilted his head, curious.

"I don't, I just don't want to get bitch slapped."

...Every time Eclipse even started to slightly look like a decent person, he killed that notion within seconds.

"I would've thought you'd be trying to get into the panties of every girl in town."

"I like a challenge," Eclipse stared at Luminous in an openly cheeky way.

Soon, Luminous had payed for the ice cream, and they were walking out of the shop.

"This is the part where you leave me alone like you said you would."

"I said 'maybe'."

Luminous groaned aloud out of frustration. "Now that I think about it, how did you even find me, anyways?"

"I've been watching you," Eclipse smiled creepily.

"Don't you have anywhere to be?"

"I basically appeared out of nowhere. Do you really expect me to have a place to stay?"

"...Oh."

"Did you have fun?"

Luminous was in the middle of saying 'no' when he realized that he _had_ had fun... And the ice cream had been good.

He glanced at his feet and kept silent.

"Thought so. What a strange and pleasant thing, eh? This foreign thing known as 'fun'."

"Don't push it," Luminous rolled his eyes.

He paused. "Where have you been sleeping lately?"

"Outside. A couple of times, I've been able to get a free room by seducing the hotel owner, but it's pretty rare."

Despite himself, Luminous found himself worried. Although Henesys was one of the safer towns, it was still dangerous to be out at night. There were thieves, and, seeing as the small town had no guards, occasionally a dangerous monster would wander in. Maple was not a safe place at night, and Eclipse was weak without most of his magic.

Luminous swallowed hard. He couldn't believe he was saying this, but... "Come stay with me."

Eclipse raised his eyebrows, "...Really, Lumi?"

"Yes."

Eclipse wrapped his arms around Luminous' neck and smiled. "I knew you loved me~"

That night, Luminous brought the man who had once been his most hated enemy, second only to the Black Mage, home with him to provide food and shelter.

Life could be very strange sometimes.

* * *

"I call first shower,"

"What? No, first shower is mine. I was here first," Eclipse protested.

"Get out of the way."

This was the third morning in a row that this had happened. Luminous was not a morning person, and needed a shower and coffee before he stopped being crabby. Eclipse, however, always wanted to take the first shower instead.

"No." Eclipse attempted to shove into the bathroom at the same time Luminous did, and they wound up shoving each other in the doorway.

"It's my shower!"

They stood there, glaring at each other, blue against red. Luminous blinked when, all of a sudden, Eclipse lunged forwards. Eclipse's lips locked against his, and the light mage stumbled backwards, shocked, with his fingers on his lips. Eclipse darted into the bathroom. Before he shut the door, he smirked and blew Luminous a kiss.

Sometimes, Luminous didn't understand how he put up with Eclipse.

* * *

"Dicks!" Eclipse hissed, having spilt hot coffee on himself. He sucked on his hand in a way that Luminous refused to admit made him want to drool.

"_Honestly_! Must you be so indecent?"

"It's funny how you blush every time I say anything 'lewd'," Eclipse smirked.

"I do not!" Luminous replied indignantly, but two pink spots of color on his cheeks betrayed him. He stirred his coffee absent-mindedly.

"Ass. Boobies. Pussy. Butt fuck. Cock."

"Shove it," A very flushed Luminous huffed.

"Up your ass?" Eclipse said cheerfully.

Luminous threw his spoon at him.

There was no kinder way to say it; the mage was a pain in the ass.

Pun not intended.

* * *

"Let's go out somewhere," Eclipse announced out of the blue.

"I'm busy," Luminous sat hunched over his desk in his study room, a pen in his hand.

"With what?"

"Writing a response to Empress Cygnus. She penned me requesting that I come to a gathering of the Maple Alliance in one week's time. We're going to plan how to get rid of the last of the Black Mage's followers," Luminous abruptly stopped, seeming to just now realize who he was talking to. He glanced at Eclipse sheepishly.

"Hey, who said I was a follower of his? I'm my own person now. Besides, all of that reigning over the world crap isn't my style. Too much work."

Luminous sighed, troubled. "You do know that I'm going to be in a large amount of trouble if they find out that you're here with me? You're regarded as a dangerous criminal, Eclipse. They're considering putting up wanted posters."

"What are they gonna do, ground you?"

Luminous smiled slightly. That was an amusing thought; Empress Cygnus marching up to him, pointing a finger under his nose, and telling him to go to his room. He doubted that the small lady had it in her.

Before he could wipe the smile off of his face and mentally chide himself for goofing off instead of continuing to write, Eclipse sidled over to him and pinched the corners of his mouth, forcing them to stay up.

"You look cute when you smile," Eclipse said simply, grinning sadistically when Luminous winced at the uncomfortable feeling of Eclipse's claws digging into his cheeks. "And don't worry about me, I'm enjoying my infamy. They aren't gonna catch me. Even if they do..." Eclipse's grin widened. He released Luminous' face.

Some men just want to watch the world burn, Luminous thought to himself.

"If they do, I won't let anything happen to you."

The words hung heavy in the air. Luminous' eyes met Eclipse's ones as he began to wish he hadn't said anything. The words sounded far too much like something one would say to the one they care about the most.

At the same time, he wondered if anyone had ever said anything like that to Eclipse. Of course not, he realized.

"Thank you," Eclipse smirked down at Luminous. For once, the expression looked soft instead of arrogant.

He wondered when he had started to care about Eclipse.

* * *

That morning, there was no rush for the shower, and no time for coffee. The reason for which sat in his hands as he scanned it quickly.

_Dear Luminous,_

_I am glad to hear that you will come. The meeting time has been changed; it is today, at noon. I would appreciate it if you would come as soon as possible._

_-Cygnus_

Luminous smiled at the signature; the Empress did not flaunt her status, as many others would. She signed letters as herself, not the Empress of the Maple World. Small details like that made him know that he could trust her not to let greed or power hunger mar her decisions.

As he pulled on his shoes, he woke Eclipse up, shaking him gently. The man's red eyes blinked open sleepily.

"You're up earlier than usual," he mumbled.

"Today's the day."

"Tea party with Cygnus?" Eclipse mocked with a smirk. Luminous had to remind himself not to be irritated; the Empress was an entirely likeable, kind and intelligent girl, much like Lania, but Eclipse was bound not to think well of her.

"The meeting is in a few hours. If I'm not back by nightfall, I'll be back tomorrow, as early as I can be," Luminous said simply, turning to leave.

Eclipse's hand shot out and caught him by his pant leg, pulling him down onto the bed.

"Take me with you."

"Why?"

"It''ll be boring here, all on my own."

"I'm sure that you'll manage," Luminous resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "You're not a child. Find something to do."

"Luminous..." Eclipse smiled evilly.

Luminous did not like that look. Definitely not.

"If you don't let me come with you, I'll send a sexy letter to Cygnus, signed with your name."

Luminous frowned and looked away. "She won't believe it."

"It'll still corrupt her innocent mind~"

Luminous sat there, thinking over his options and grinding his teeth. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place, here.

Eclipse shoved Luminous down on the bed, tugged his cape aside and bit his shoulder, hard. "Hurry up and say yes, or we'll miss the ship."

"...Don't blame me if they toss you in prison," Luminous murmured, his matter-of-fact tone ruined by his breathlessness induced by being bitten, before shoving Eclipse aside and standing up.

"Don't worry, they won't. I have an idea."

"You do..?" Luminous looked at him curiously.

Eclipse stood, smirking deviously. "Here's the plan..."

* * *

Eclipse walked next to Luminous calmly as they headed to the meeting room. It was half full already; Luminous could see the Resistance, led by the thief Claudine. He glanced to the side, and saw Aran sitting calmly. He scanned the place nervously, but there was no sign of Phantom. Evan, however, was standing with his hand on Mir's snout.

There was, of course, Empress Cygnus, sitting in the middle. Two of her head knights, a blond and a redhead, stood on either side of her, as well as her advisor, a long-haired man who Luminous remembered as Neinheart.

All eyes were on them as they walked in, and suddenly, bows, swords, polearms, daggers and various other weapons were all pointed at Eclipse.

Luminous clutched Eclipse's hand tightly, nervously.

"You caught him?" Empress Cygnus spoke quietly, as she always did.

"Not exactly, Empress. May I request that all weapons be withdrawn, so that I may explain myself?"

No one made a move.

"I'm sorry, Luminous. You cannot just bring a dangerous man into Ereve and expect everyone to not have their weapons at the ready."

"I understand, Lady Cygnus," Luminous sighed resignedly. "Very well. Eclipse isn't dangerous anymore. The spell malfunctioned; when he was ejected from my mind, I absorbed most of his magic."

"Can you confirm this?" The Empress asked calmly.

"It's true, m'lady. He hardly has any magical presence," The redheaded mage beside Cygnus spoke.

"Hey, bitches, quit acting like I'm not here," Eclipse squeezed Luminous' hand reassuringly.

"You will not speak to the Empress in such a manner, or so help me...!" The blonde knight clutched his sword tightly.

"Mikhail, please do not trouble yourself over a mere insult," Cygnus smiled exasperatedly, fondly, at the knight. "Luminous, I was informed by Evan and Phantom that Eclipse had attacked you. Is this true?"

"Yes, however, he isn't mentally stable."

"Eclipse, if you would speak for yourself...?" Cygnus requested.

Eclipse crossed his arms over his chest. "Why should I? If I so much as say 'fuck' one of your guard dogs might decide to shoot me dead for my 'insolence'."

"Fair enough. Lower your weapons."

Reluctantly and unwillingly, everyone in the room slowly lowered their weapons. It was a direct order from the Empress; they had no choice.

"Look, chick, I don't plan on messing with your perfect little empire. If you leave me be, I'll leave you be."

"You may leave me alone, but what about my people? Will you murder them?"

"I just want to live with Lumi."

"Why?"

"Because..." Eclipse paused and stepped closer to Luminous, looking at him with unmasked adoration. It startled Luminous, for a moment, before he decided that Eclipse was merely an excellent actor. "I love him."

This was their plan; to play off of the hearts of those in the Alliance. Luminous knew that the Empress would always do her best to do what was 'just' and 'right', often times childishly not understanding that sometimes, there was no right thing to do, only gray areas. If she thought that Eclipse was too head over heels for Luminous to do anything that would lose his trust, she would allow Eclipse to stay free.

A stunned silence settled over the room after Eclipse's announcement.

"Are the two of you in a relationship?"

"No, Empress. I don't return his feelings," Luminous answered truthfully. "But you have my vote that Eclipse won't do anything wrong."

"Very well. Luminous, this is an order; you will keep an eye on Eclipse. Eclipse will no longer be regarded as a criminal, however, if he steps out of line, he will be sent to prison, and, if the crime is great enough, executed."

Luminous swallowed hard, then bowed deeply. "Yes, Empress Cygnus."

Eclipse surprised him, then, by saluting Cygnus and smiling. "I still don't like you, but thanks."

"I can _not_ have you participating in a meeting, however. The information we share here is purely confidential, so if you could please leave with him, Luminous? I'm sure you're both tired from taking the ship here, so you may stay until tomorrow."

Luminous nodded and left with Eclipse. They shot each other joyful looks.

They had done it.

As soon as they left the meeting room, Eclipse grinned and waggled his eyebrows. "So... Celebration sex?"

Luminous' face went red. His mouth opened and closed like a fish.

"Kidding, kidding. So, why'd you do that for me?"

Luminous found a tree to sit under. He toyed with a blade of grass, watching as sunlight found its way through the gaps in the leaves and left bespeckled patterns on the ground.

"Because you're my friend."

Luminous suddenly found himself with a lapful of Eclipse, who smiled- a genuine smile, not a smug or threatening one, which was rare from Eclipse, and pressed his nose against Luminous', eskimo kissing him.

"Is that usually how you react to declarations of friendship?" Luminous asked dryly.

"I've never had a friend before."

Luminous had to wonder how, one minute, Eclipse could make him want to punch him in the face, and the next, he could cause his heart to clench with empathetic sadness for him. He knew how it felt to be alone.

Eclipse slid down to lay his head in Luminous' lap, and they watched the fluffy white clouds pass by in the blue, blue sky. If there was a perfect place on Maple, it was Ereve.

They just lay there, cloud-watching and enjoying each other's company.

"That one looks like a dick," Eclipse pointed to a particular cloud.

"How lewd!"

It was the start of a beautiful friendship.

* * *

It had been a month since the meeting in Ereve. Ever since the beginning of their friendship, Eclipse had acted less like a predator stalking his prey(Luminous), which was a relief to the light mage. Things were going smoothly; every day, they fought over the shower, drank coffee, fought over which television show to watch, ate lunch, fought over who was going to do the dishes, and then went out somewhere for dinner. Luminous never asked where Eclipse got the money to treat him.

Although annoying, perverted and dangerous, Eclipse was a good companion. Being dragged to places by him every day, Luminous was having more fun than he had had since he was a child.

Eclipse was becoming dearer to him every day, but Luminous didn't forget about the little girl who was the most important person in his life. She was family, blood or not.

"I'm going to see Lania today," Luminous informed Eclipse quietly one day. The man barely moved, absorbed in a magazine. Luminous glanced at it, then immediately glanced away with red cheeks, realizing with disgust that it was a porn magazine.

"Sure, whatever. Have fun."

With that, Luminous set off to Ellinia.

"Papa Lumi!" Lania squealed as she opened the door. Luminous swept the girl up in his arms, spinning her around with a smile.

"Hello, Lania, is everything okay? Has... Has anybody strange looking come here?"

"No, Lumi, quit asking weird questions!" Lania giggled.

"Lania! Who are you talking to?" Luminous heard her talking, winged cat call out.

"It's just Luminous, Penny!"

Luminous winced as he heard a hiss. To the cat, who had acted as the little girl's mother ever since she found her as a baby alone in the forest, he could never redeem himself. Ever since Eclipse had taken over his body and unleashed his magic, causing an explosion which had harmed Lania badly, Penny had hated his guts. She had only let him nurse Lania back to health because she herself couldn't.

"Oh, Penny, stop that!" Lania looked back at Luminous, who was still holding her to his chest tightly. "Lumi! Lumi, your eye is blue again. Does that mean you got rid of the bad man?"

Luminous winced; that was her name for Eclipse.

"Yes, Lania. He isn't gone, though, he has a body of his own."

"Is he gonna come here and explode me again?" Lania looked worried.

"The Empress herself told me to make sure he doesn't do any such thing," Luminous promised. "I would never let him hurt you."

Yet even as he said the words, he began to worry. Eclipse could do anything while the light mage slept. He could kidnap Lania and demand things from Luminous- sex, money, power, _anything._

He had begun to trust Eclipse, yet that trust was slowly being eaten away by distrust.

Eclipse had been right. He was forgetting who he was. Perhaps their 'friendship' was just a game to him, and when he got bored of it, he would start a newer, more sinister one.

And besides, how could Luminous be friends with someone who had hurt the little girl meant the world to him?

"I heard that the Empress is really cool and pretty!" Lania's high, childish voice interrupted his thoughts. He set her down gently, and she grabbed his tunic in her little hand and tugged him inside with her.

"Yes, she is. And she's a little girl, just like you."

Lania's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "Can I be Empress one day?"

"We'll see. Some day, when the world is more peaceful, I'll take you to meet Empress Cygnus."

Lania squealed for joy and hugged him, resting her little head against his stomach.

They tag-teamed lunch, a good team as usual. It had come from years of making everything together, every day. Luminous missed being woken up every morning by her rounded, eager face inches from his.

Eventually, Lania tugged his sleeve, and he looked down at her happily.

"I missed you. Papa, if the bad man is gone, does that mean you can stay?"

Luminous felt his heart cracking as he looked into Lania's soulful eyes. He shook his head regretfully, wishing with all his might that he could say yes. "It's still too dangerous."

Her blue eyes filled with tears. "But it's so lonely here."

"I'm sorry, Lania. Some day, I promise, I'll be here every day, and I'll never leave you like this again," He gathered his little girl into his arms and held her tightly, stroking her long blonde hair. It was down to her back, now, rather than in the short bob she had had when he first met her.

It was then that Luminous realized that he couldn't be Eclipse's friend.

Nobody hurt Lania and got away with it.

* * *

"Hey, Luminous, you're back. How's the little brat?"

"Her name is Lania," Luminous said quietly and angrily.

Eclipse looked up at him bemusedly. "What's the matter?"

"You."

Eclipse frowned. "Me? What the fuck did _I_ do?"

"You nearly killed Lania."

"I thought you got over that. It's not fucking fair to bring it up now."

"You never apologized to Lania _or _me."

"I'm so-"

"Save it. I don't want to be your friend anymore."

Luminous almost wanted to take his words back when he saw the pained look on Eclipse's face. He had to remind himself that it was most likely just an act.

"What's gotten into you, Lumi?" Eclipse asked quietly

"Reality. Someday, I am going to move in with Lania, and raise her in Ellinia. You can't fit into that, not when she's still _terrified_ of you."

"I'll make it up to her. I'll make it up to both of you! Just... Don't leave me alone." Eclipse said the last part so softly that Luminous almost didn't hear it.

"It's not enough. You're always going to be a bloodthirsty maniac, Eclipse. People don't change that much."

"So _that's_ all that you think of me, huh? I'm just a bloodthirsty maniac?" Eclipse said angrily, sounding wounded.

"You're not even really a person."

Eclipse stood up, walked over to Luminous, and grabbed the collar of his tunic, glaring at him. "Say that one more time."

"You're not a person."

Eclipse punched Luminous in the face. He turned around to walk away, leaving Luminous to fall to the ground, but then the light mage hooked his leg around Eclipse's ankle, tripping him.

"You wanna fight?" Eclipse spat, whirling around.

Too pissed to even speak, Luminous answered by slamming his fist into Eclipse's gut. Eclipse kicked his shin.

Before long, they were a clawing, kicking, biting and scratching mass on the floor. Eclipse rolled on top of Luminous, scratching his arms as Luminous pulled his hair. Eclipse bit him on the neck until it bled, and Luminous held back a moan. He thrust his knee into Eclipse's stomach and rolled on top of him. He knocked his forehead against Eclipse's.

Which was a terrible, terrible idea. They both lay there for a minute, stunned by the pain in their skulls.

When the pain became bearable, Luminous got off of Eclipse and walked away.

"Coward!" Eclipse shouted after him.

Luminous was too prideful to turn around, so he didn't notice Eclipse's hurt expression.

The next morning was an awkward affair. There was no fight over the morning shower; Eclipse merely took one glance at Luminous' bloodied up face and left, not wanting to see him. Every emotion between them felt jumbled up and complicated; he felt guilty that he had hurt Luminous, yet at the same time, he felt enraged.

They didn't speak to each other as they grabbed their morning coffee. Not even a 'good morning' was uttered- although in truth, it wasn't a good morning.

The fragile bond between them had cracked, and then broken. All Eclipse could do was sit there, numbly staring at the pieces.

Eclipse didn't know what to think. Was he at fault, or Luminous?

_Luminous!_ He thought angrily, but something inside of him whispered that if he had never hurt Lania, none of this would have happened.

"Why did you do it?" Luminous finally broke the tense silence by asking the question stiffly. Eclipse didn't bother asking what; there was no need.

"I was trapped inside of you for years, unable to speak to you or have a body of my own, until my magic activated. I was pissed at you. I wanted to hurt you because you were able to have everything that I couldn't, and you never even noticed that I was there. So I hurt what was the most precious to you."

Luminous wished that Eclipse could have lied about it, said that it was an accident, even though they both knew that wasn't true. Maybe then everything could be alright between them.

But Eclipse was bluntly honest, as usual.

Luminous stood up.

"I'm going to another Alliance meeting. I'll be there for a day." He turned around and walked out of the door, never looking back.

It felt like a goodbye.

* * *

Eclipse stared numbly at the clock on the bedside table in his room. _3:05_, it read in bright red numbers.

It had been a week since their fight.

He was beginning to learn what heartbreak felt like.

Eclipse didn't want to move. He didn't want to talk to anybody. All that he wanted to do was lay there feeling miserable.

None of this was right. Luminous was _his_, so why was he leaving him?

_That asshole..._ Eclipse thought weakly.

What was he even supposed to do? It wasn't his fault that Luminous' precious, precious Lania was still scared of him. The little bitch should've gotten over it by now. She deserved it, for being so important to Luminous.

Eclipse should be the most important to him, damn it, yet he _ignored_ him. All of those years, alone inside of Luminous' mind, beating at the walls and begging for Luminous to _talk to him_. All of those years watching Lania grow closer and closer to Luminous, and thinking, _that should be me._

He hated her.

And now, now that Eclipse finally had what he wanted; to be close to Luminous, she had torn them apart again.

He didn't know how to make this right. Luminous wasn't going to accept his apologies...

Wait.

Eclipse furrowed his eyebrows.

The brat had a lot of power over Luminous, didn't she? She was the entire reason he had started all of this crap.

Maybe, just maybe, he could get her to talk to Luminous for him.

It seemed like an impossible task, but Eclipse would do it.

He'd do anything for Lumi.

Eclipse knew the route to Lania's cottage in the woods, due to having lived inside of Luminous' head for years. He found his way there, and tapped on the oak door.

"Papa Lu-" Lania started happily, before her eyes widened and she noticed the difference. "mi...?"

She was smart. It didn't take her long to figure out who he was. With a squeal, she tried to slam the door shut, but Eclipse wedged his foot in front of it before she could.

"Wait," Eclipse said desperately.

Something in his eyes must've struck the emotionally intelligent little girl, because she hesitantly opened up the door again, bravely looking up at him even though her hands were shaking.

"I just want to talk to you. See?" He held up his hands, which were empty. "No weapons."

Lania glanced behind her, seeing Penny fast asleep on her bed. She knew that if the cat woke up, she would surely attack Eclipse, so she stepped outside with him, closing the door quietly.

Eclipse took a deep breath, unsure of how to begin. For fuck's sake, he had no idea how to deal with kids, other than stabbing them.

"Look. You... Did you know that Lumi and I were friends?"

"_Friends?_ But... But you're not nice. Why would papa be friends with you?"

Ouch. Then again, coming from Lania, Eclipse guessed he did deserve it.

"Because I'm trying to be nicer. I like him."

Lania giggled. "Like... Like, like-like?"

That was far too many 'like's in a single sentence. "Yep. But he stopped being my friend because he's mad at me for that one time I attacked you."

Lania made a face. "I still don't like you for that. It hurt. It hurt lots and lots."

Eclipse still hated her. But... It was hard not to feel at least a tiny bit bad when Lania was looking so upset.

"I'm sorry."

The little blonde girl peered up at him, and, seeing that the apology was genuine, smiled brightly. "It's okay! Penny taught me that I should always give people second chances."

"Thanks. Look, can you put in a good word for me with Lumi? I miss him, but he won't forgive me. I think he will if you ask him to."

"Hmm..."

Eclipse sighed heavily. What had it come down to, that he was putting his friendship with Luminous in the hands of a little brat?

"I think that papa misses you too. He looks all sad when he comes here."

Eclipse bit his lip and looked down. Did he really mean that much to Luminous? It hadn't sounded like it...

How could Luminous care about someone who 'wasn't even a person' anyway?

"I just... Fuck. I don't even know why I'm telling you this, but I love him. Always have."

"Okay," Lania smiled happily, "I'll tell him that he'd better forgive you or I'll never forgive him. But don't try to explode my head again!"

"Will do," Eclipse grinned. "Thanks, little lady."

He turned to leave, but Lania tugged on his shirt. "Hey, mister?"

"Yes?"

"Um... What's 'fuck'?"

Eclipse smirked. "Well, you see, it's what your papa and I should do because we love each other very much..." He trailed off, abruptly realizing that Luminous would kill him if he found out that he had told the guy's little girl what sex was. "I gotta go. See you."

* * *

The next time Luminous visited Lania, she was on him in moments.

"Papa! Why did you fight with mister vampire?"

Luminous raised an eyebrow. "Mister vampire...?"

"Yeah! He looks like a vampire," Lania giggled.

"Look, Lania, it's nothing you should worry about," Luminous said with a pained look, remembering the fight with Eclipse. They didn't speak to each other anymore, and every night, they ate dinner alone in their rooms.

And then he realized... "Wait, _looks?_ You saw Eclipse?"

"Mhm! He came by and said hi to me."

"He didn't do anything, right?"

"Uh-uh. We just talked. Papa, you should forgive him. He's really nice and he misses you and you both look sad."

"Lania, you don't understand. He hurt you."

"He said he's sorry."

"You're too young to understand this, okay? Let me deal with my own problems."

Lania frowned, crossing her arms over her chest stubbornly. "Papa, you're being dumb," she said bluntly. "You both like-like each other, and I need a mama, so kiss and make out already!"

Luminous choked on his dinner.

"Uh," He spluttered when he finally stopped coughing, "Lania, we're not like that."

"Okay, then just be friends again! You can't be angry at him _for_ me, Lumi. I already forgave Eclipse."

Luminous looked away. She had a point...

"I'll think about it," He said finally.

Yet just thinking about Eclipse made his chest ache. Really, what was the point of continuing to stay mad at him? It did seem that he was trying to change for the better.

Luminous would give him a chance, he decided, smiling softly.

Lania interrupted his thoughts by saying with childish innocence, "So, Eclipse told me that you and him do the fuck because you love each other very much!"

...Scratch that, he was going to _murder _him.

* * *

Luminous took a deep breath, and then knocked on Eclipse's door.

"...Yeah?" Eclipse called out hesitantly.

Luminous opened the door. "Can- can I sit down?" He asked, swallowing nervously.

"Yeah."

Luminous took a seat on Eclipse's bed, but found himself unable to meet Eclipse's eyes. He sat there awkwardly for several moments, before finally murmuring, "I'm sorry."

"I'm not sorry that I punched you," Eclipse said honestly.

"I know. I deserved it." Luminous finally looked up, locking eyes with Eclipse. "You are a person. I only said that because I was mad."

"I'm sorry that I hurt the bra- Lania. I won't do it again."

"I know," Luminous smiled at him trustingly.

Eclipse's breath hitched. In the blink of an eye, he was shoving Luminous down and holding on to him tightly.

"Can we be friends again?" Luminous asked, sighing contentedly at the feeling of Eclipse embracing him.

"Yes. You'd better not fucking leave me alone again."

"I won't," Luminous promised. "And by the way..."

"Yeah?"

Luminous bit Eclipse's jaw as hard as he could. "That's for saying 'fuck' in front of Lania."

* * *

Luminous sat in his study, surrounded by open books. He was rapidly taking notes while flipping through pages.

"Lumi. Stop working yourself so hard, or you'll catch a cold," Eclipse scolded from the doorway.

"I'm busy right now, Eclipse, Please leave me be."

"Don't stay up too late," Eclipse said simply, turning around and leaving.

In truth, Luminous was tired. He had pulled an all-nighter the previous night he was working on this, as well as the night before that, and thusly needed more sleep. But he had promised Evan that he would research this.

Evan and Mir had been unable to find any Onyx dragon. The rumors had been false, but the pair still weren't giving up, and had requested his assistance.

So, the logical conclusion was that they had to revive the race. However, there were three rules of magic: one, it could not be used to conjure real money, two, it could not influence others' free will, and finally, three; it could not bring people back to life.

Luminous shuddered, remembering the times that he had seen the attempts of black mages to bring others back to life. What resulted was a twisted, rotting mass of flesh that could hardly be described as human anymore. They preferred dark, dank places, and, at the sight of anything human, would attack, vomitting their stomach acids, biting and scratching.

There was a myth that if one was bitten or scratched by one of those... _Things,_ he or she would turn into one, but Luminous knew it wasn't true. The worst that could happen would be a nasty infection.

So, since Luminous was unable and unwilling to literally bring the Onyx dragon race back to life, he had to settle with what he could do. Mir would have to mate with a species similar enough to them that it wouldn't matter too much.

Luminous tapped his pen against his lips frustratedly. But... How? The Onyx dragons had been a rather unique race; highly intelligent, compassionate and non-violent, they defied the legends of dragons being a beastly race that ate farmers' livestock, and even the farmers themselves. Even if he ignored the matter of finding an intelligent sub-species of dragon, there was still the matter of possible differences in reproductory systems, and there were so few books on Onyx dragons that he was unable to compare.

Luminous sat back and wearily glanced around at the sea of books surrounding him. They were haphazardly scattered, some tossed aside as useless, and some, open on his desk, marked as important.

Every few seconds, he felt his eyes drooping shut. His head ached, and he longed to rest it on something. But he still had to finish one last book...

He stood up to get some water, and then everything went black.

* * *

"Lumi, you really should go to bed-" Eclipse stopped, eyes widening.

Luminous was laying on the floor, unconscious.

Eclipse rushed towards him, immediately rolling him onto his back so that he could check his pulse. He realized with breathless relief that he was still alive and breathing.

Which meant that Luminous had passed out from sleep deprivation.

"Dipshit," Eclipse muttered exasperatedly and fondly. He gathered Luminous into his arms and lifted him up bridal style. With that, he carried Luminous to bed and carefully set him down. He tucked the light mage in.

Smiling, Eclipse brushed his fingers over Luminous' forehead. His smile faded to a frown; Luminous was burning up.

Oh, shit. He had a fever? The only knowledge of how to deal with such things came from the Black Mage, who had never had to take care of a sick person before because he had never cared enough to nurse anyone back to health.

Eclipse hesitated, then simply decided to stay by Luminous' bed and watch over him.

Halfway through the night, Luminous started tossing and turning, mumbling garbled things. It seemed like he was having nightmares. Several times, Eclipse heard his name being said, sometimes angrily, sometimes in a pained voice.

After a particularly loud, upset-sounding shout, Luminous awoke. His cheeks were flushed, and he looked incoherent.

"Eclipse...?" He mumbled. His teeth were chattering.

"Yeah?"

"I'm c-cold."

Eclipse crawled into Luminous' bed and slipped under the covers. He wrapped his arms around him and rested his head on top of his white and blue hair.

"N-no, you'll get sick too," Luminous protested exhaustedly. His head felt foggy and painful, and he was freezing despite the thick blankets around him. His vision was blurry.

"Don't worry your pretty little head. I'm not really human, so I don't think I _can_ get sick."

Luminous cuddled into Eclipse's chest, sighing in relief. The darker haired man's arms tightened around him protectively.

They fell asleep that way.

* * *

Within two days' time, Luminous was easing out of the fever, no longer troubled by hazy, disturbing dreams. Within three, he was standing up on his own with no help from Eclipse.

To Eclipse's immense chagrin, on that very third day, his sick charge was making his way to his study.

"Not so fast," The dark mage huffed, interposing between Luminous and the door.

"Eclipse, I need to do this research to help Evan and Mir. It's important," Luminous said irritably.

"You just caught a cold because you worked yourself too hard. No, dumbass, I will not let you through."

"Eclipse," Luminous tried again, but he was halted by Eclipse's finger on his lips.

"Shush. And by the way," Eclipse smirked smugly, "I _told_ you so."

Luminous sighed softly and slumped in defeat. "I suppose that it's irresponsible of me to put my health in danger once again..."

"Well, your stuffy old study-"

"Excuse you, my study is _not _stuffy!"

"-isn't going to do your health any good, so come on."

"...Come on?" Luminous echoed confusedly.

"We're going to Ariant," Eclipse said simply.

"Ariant?" Luminous once again echoed Eclipse, this time distastefully. Ariant was a burning hot desert. The only civilization was largely made up of beggars and thieves. The greedy fairy queen Areda, who had lived a wealthy life inside a palace while children in rotting shacks starved to death, had been overthrown by a band of romantic thieves who stole from the rich and gave to the poor. But before she had left the desert in disgrace, she had used her powerful fairy magic to send the palace down in ruins.

Every day, the newly awakened king- a human man who had been seduced by Areda, only to be sent into a coma by her so that she could rule, led search parties into those ruins to rummage for gold and jewelry. These, he distributed fairly amongst the poor- which so happened to be the entire population of Ariant- for he had been a foolish man, yet he was not an unkind one.

Not all of the places in Ariant were shacks, yet Luminous doubted they would be able to find a decent hotel.

"Yeah. You could use a little bit of sun," Eclipse grinned cheekily.

Luminous could only look at him skeptically.

A little bit of sun turned out to be a lot of sun.

Luminous squinted, barely able to see through the blinding sun. He had only just stepped off of the ship, and already sweat was beading on his forehead.

Miles and miles of sand stretched out before him, broken only by thatched huts, many of which sagged. He could see hooded strangers glancing at he and Eclipse distrustfully, before hurrying inside. Several beggars, varying from young to elderly, sat looking at him with hollow eyes, holding out their cupped hands. Bustling merchants called out the names of their wares eagerly, offering 'cheap' prices and rare items. Once, before Luminous' very eyes, a child no older than eleven or twelve smuggled several fruits behind an elderly woman's back. It struck Luminous that he was no longer the black-and-white man he had used to be, before the Black Mage stuck Eclipse inside of him; in the past, he would have called the child out for the crime. Now, he could only shake his head sadly at the fact that the little boy had had to steal in order to feed himself and family.

"Is this truly your ideal place for a vacation?" Luminous murmured to Eclipse as they sat in the shade of a house, taking turns sipping from a bottle of water.

Eclipse smiled oddly. "...This is home."

"What do you mean?"

"The Black Mage... He lived here for a long time, studying."

"How odd. If I remember correctly, Phantom was born here.."

They walked around, but still had difficulty locating a place to stay. Eclipse suggested that they ask a local, so Luminous crouched down beside a thin, ragged looking girl and politely asked her for directions to a hotel.

"Water," she croaked in response. Wordlessly, he handed her the bottle of water. She gulped it down so quickly she nearly choked.

She smiled at him weakly, yet gratefully. "_The Pot and Kettle._ Just turn right a coupl'a times, then straight ahead. Can't miss it," She offered. Her soft voice was gravelly, sounding seldom used.

Luminous thanked her, leaving her the rest of the water, while Eclipse tossed her an apple. They made their way through the streets and found their way to The Pot and Kettle.

The place didn't look too bad. Evidently, the king's scouring of the castle was going well, if they had the money to build a decent hotel. Luminous and Eclipse walked up to the man at the desk.

"You two newly weds? We've got a special, one bed one bathroom for half-off,"

Before Luminous could deny it, Eclipse smiled and stepped closer, placing his arm around his waist. "We'll take it."

The man named the price, and Eclipse placed the mesos on the counter. With that, they headed up to their room, just in time to watch the sunset through the window.

"Why'd you tell him that? Now we'll have to share the bed," Luminous grumbled.

"It's called conserving money, Lumi. Ever heard of it?"

"It's called scamming, Eclipse. Ever heard of it?" Luminous shot back snarkily.

"If you don't want the room, you can go ahead and sleep outside. I, however, am going to take a shower," Eclipse walked into the bathroom and shut the door. Moments later, he heard the sound of the water running, and he flushed, realizing that Eclipse was naked. In the room next to him. With water dripping down his body.

Luminous faceplanted into the pillow and desperately attempted not to think of anything.

That evening, after they were both freshly showered, they slipped into bed. It wasn't a very large bed, so Luminous was forced to lay in Eclipse's arms. This actually came as a relief, though; the temperature dropped drastically at nighttime.

"Good night," Luminous said softly.

"Yeah," Eclipse murmured into his damp hair. Luminous wasn't sure whether he was agreeing that it was a good night, or lazily echoing him.

They shut their eyes.

* * *

Luminous woke up to the smell of mocha coffee. He sat up and yawned, blinking sleepily up at the cup that was in front of his face. Eclipse was holding it out.

He hummed at the sweet, creamy taste. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me. I accidentally made extra," Eclipse sat down on the bed, sipping a mug of his own coffee.

The light mage glanced out the window, noticing that it was earlier than they usual awoke.

"Are we going anywhere today?"

"Mmm... Figured we'd just wander around a bit. We should get going while it's still a little cool outside."

Luminous murmured his assent. The two men finished their warm drinks, and the lighter-haired of the duo wrapped the shawl, which bespoke his rank as a mage of Aurora, around his shoulders and buttoned it. Eclipse smiled and grabbed his arm in order to lead him around Ariant. The dark mage's sharp nails pressed against his thin wrist, but Luminous didn't feel threatened.

"There'll probably be gypsies dancing in the marketplace," Eclipse remarked, steering them towards the area. Sure enough, beautiful men and women were dancing around. The women wore breezy, flowing skirts and shirts with floofy sleeves that exposed their shoulders and stomachs. The men wore similar shirts, along with pantaloons. They were dressed to beat the desert heat. A small crowd had gathered already to watch the graceful dancers as they spun and twined.

"They're quite skilled," Luminous complimented. He smiled, easily able to envision a younger Phantom coming to watch the gypsies, here in his hometown. He could imagine the blond stealthily sneaking coins from the enthralled watchers' pockets.

He was broken out of his thoughts by a girl screaming.

Amongst the dancers, whose art was disrupted, stood a teenage boy, cloaked in robes far too thick for the desert. Glowing strings of magic spread out from his fingers and connected to puppets, which were holding knives.

A little girl, no older than seven, was laying in a bloody heap at the foot of one of said puppets. ...Or rather, her head was.

Luminous glared at the puppeteer and stood up to his full height. He cast one glance at the trembling gypsy boys and girls and gave them a look. "RUN." He commanded.

Some of them glancing back at the girl and sobbing, they did, led by men and women dressed similarly. The square dispersed of people.

Eclipse sighed, softly. "...Well, this is certainly a mess."

Luminous swallowed, hard, and glanced at the decapitated girl. He felt his stomach turn. "You're the Puppeteer, are you not?" He asked coldly.

"I am. I finally found you...Who's your plus one?"

Luminous ignored the boy. "By order of the Empress, I insist that you allow yourself to be detained. You are guilty of treason and murder."

"Why would I do that? I'm going to get you dumbasses out of our way so that we can revive the Black Mage!" Francis frowned, then. "Shit, I shouldn't have said that. Well, you're going to die anyway."

The boy began moving his fingers in a blur, and the puppets shot out towards the two mages, surrounding them. One of the puppet's knives was covered in the gyspy girl's blood.

Eclipse and Luminous were outnumbered five to one. And Eclipse didn't have a weapon...

Luminous set to work, channelling magic through both ends of his shining rod so that he could destroy two puppets in one swing. He twisted around and fired a bolt at a puppet that was attacking Eclipse, who was punching and kicking whatever he could.

Luminous yelped in surprise as there was a flash of light, and then, suddenly, Phantom was standing next to him. The thief smirked and began attacking puppets. "Honestly, you two. Did you have to start all the fun without me?"

"I see that the greatest thief on Maple _still_ has yet to steal a watch," Luminous huffed dryly, butting the end of his rod into another puppet. Six down, four to go.

Eclipse savagely stomped on a puppet, and it stopped moving. Luminous shot another bolt, and Phantom threw razor-edged tarot cards at the last two puppets.

"Looks like our little game is over, Puppeteer."

The Puppeteer walked to the girl's corpse and spat on her. Luminous glared at the boy in disgust. How could anyone be so cruel? "Not so fast, heroes. Do you _honestly _believe that the most powerful puppeteer around would have only a few weak puppets up his sleeve?"

He crooked a finger, and the defeated puppets laying scattered and broken on the sandy ground began assembling together around the largest one. Before the three's eyes, they formed a giant puppet, which towered over them.

"You two get the puppet, I'll get the puppeteer," Phantom murmured hurriedly. But before he could teleport to their enemy, the short teen controllled the puppet so that it would lift him up onto its shoulder.

The humongous puppet lifted its arms, which had several kitchen knives sticking blade side out of it, to smash it down on the ground, missing Phantom by an inch.

They fired spells at the puppet, but the Puppeteer cast walls around it every time, blocking their efforts. Luminous scowled and began casting a spell, closing his eyes and muttering an incantation. Hopefully, it would be strong enough to break apart the wall and reach the puppet within...

Luminous didn't see it when the hooded boy began a spell of his own. He didn't have time to react as a bolt of magic in the shape of a knife came speeding towards him.

"Look out!" Eclipse shouted, diving in front of Luminous at the last second. He landed atop the light mage, and the two men skidded in the sand.

Luminous looked up, stunned, the words of his spell stopping their flow from his lips. "E...clipse?"

A drop of blood landed on his cheek.

"Fuck," Eclipse grimaced. "A...ren't you going to thank me, you ungrateful piece of shit?"

"What did you do that for?!" Luminous hissed.

"Don't know," The dark mage laughed bitterly, weakly. "I hate you, Luminous,"

"The feeling is mutual, but if you die..." Luminous's eyes narrowed.

Luminous barely noticed as Phantom triumphed over the puppet and shoved the Black Wing member's face into the sand, then tied him up. He was too busy trying to staunch the rapid flow of blood. It was all over his pristinely white clothing and his hands.

Phantom, dragging a tied up puppeteer, appeared. His amethyst eyes widened. "Oh, shit."

"Don't just stand there, _do something_."

Phantom hesitantly dropped the puppeteer and knelt beside them. He studied the injury, then looked up. "Luminous..." He looked away. "He's not gonna make it, it's fatal. I can't get a cleric here fast enough."

Luminous' eyes widened. His hands fell to the ground, and his shoulders began to shake. "B-but..."

Phantom knew how it felt to lose someone who, judging by Luminous' reaction, was obviously precious. He didn't know how Eclipse had become so important to him in a mere several months, but it didn't matter.

The thief wanted to be there for his friend, but he stood up with a sigh. He had to deliver their enemy to the authorities.

"I'll be back soon," Phantom promised.

Luminous sat there numbly, staring into Eclipse's eyes as the life drained out of them.

And then the world erupted into light.

* * *

Luminous awoke to a white ceiling. His body ached, as if he had run a marathon and then climbed a mountain. He winced. He hadn't done that... Had he?

He searched his memories... And it all came flooding back. With a choked cry, he flung his head off the pillow, sitting up.

Eclipse was... Was...

_Not quite yet, sweetcheeks._

Luminous's breath hitched. His heart rose with hope. That hadn't been his voice in his head..

_"_Eclipse?" He breathed softly.

_Mmhm?_

_"_You're alive!" Luminous smiled, feeling his eyes fill up with joyful tears.

_I think so._

"What happened?"

_No clue. Everything just kinda... Went black. And now I'm back in your head._

"I suppose that when your body d-died, your magic and or spirit was drawn to mine, since you were stuck in my body for so long. Kind of like coming home.."

_Right back to square one, eh?_ Eclipse laughed.

"Eclipse..." Luminous murmured, biting his lip. "I'm really glad that you're alive. And by the way..." Luminous, out of nowhere, flicked himself on the temple.

_Ow! Hey, I can feel that too, you little fucker._

"That's the point. Don't you _dare_ try to sacrifice yourself for me ever again."

_We'll see._


End file.
